Historic Centre
Between the train station and the Sant'Elmo castle, the old town is the jewel of Naples, a Unesco World Heritage Site. The crowd of walkers gives the historic center a hectic activity. The café terraces are always noisy, the squares are crowded and the nightlife is particularly lively. Napoli Antica" is also the place where you will find the most points of interest: churches, palaces, statues, baroque and renaissance styles all blend together.
Via Toledo separates the historic center from the Spanish quarters from north to south. The latter were created in the middle of the 16th century and have managed to preserve, despite the progress and urbanization of the city, their original character. Picturesque and authentic, the Spanish quarters are a must to take the temperature of the city.
Mercato
Between the coastline, Corso Umberto I and Corso Garibaldi, you will find a subtle marriage between the monumental center and the bourgeois architecture of the seaside. Two essential elements to remember within this triangle: the church of Santa Maria del Carmine and the Piazza del Mercato. The latter is associated in the Neapolitan imagination with the capital executions that have been held there for centuries. Tommaso Aniello, a fisherman and tribune nicknamed Masaniello, led the insurrection against the Spanish power in 1647, following the increase of taxes. Arrested and beheaded, Masaniello remains today one of the heroes and symbols of the city. Beyond the history, it is also an opportunity to enjoy the joys of the Porta Nolana market and to get a feel for the crowd... On the other hand, the neighborhood tends to deteriorate as you get closer to the station. If the seaside remains animated in the evening, the corso Umberto I is essentially dedicated to shopping and is of little interest at nightfall.
Chiaia and the Lungomare
To the southwest of Piazza del Plebiscito stretches the Pizzofalcone neighborhood, so named because in the 13th century Charles I of Anjou used to hunt falcons(falcone in Italian) here. It was on this hill, a remnant of the ancient volcanic crater of Mount Echia, that the foundations of Parthenope (later Naples) were laid in the seventh century BC by Greek settlers. From the top of the via Monte di Dio, superb panorama on the city, the gulf of Naples and the Vesuvius.
Further down, Santa Lucia, now extremely chic, bounded by via Santa Lucia and via Nazario Sauro, was still a fishing village at the end of the 19th century. The end of the 19th century marked the advent of a general infatuation of the wealthier classes for the seaside. Naples was no exception to the rule. For real estate developers and public authorities, it is a potentially very profitable area. After a vast urban redevelopment operation, which indirectly gave birth to the borgo Marinari, the fishing nets gradually gave way to large hotels and wealthier families. The area now hosts restaurants and other tourist stores surrounding the small port. Always pleasant for a meal or even for a simple stroll. It's a great place for nightlife in general. Once there, take the opportunity to visit the Castel dell'Ovo (Castle of the Egg), founded by the first Greek settlers and taken over at the end of the5th century by a community of monks.
Further west, Chiaia is one of the most elegant areas of the city. Naples, by decision of the Bourbon-Sicilian family, was in fact extended from the middle of the 18th century. The first step in this process, led by the architect Vanvitelli, was the creation of a garden facing the sea. The opening of the Villa Comunale (1780), bordered on both sides by the Riviera di Chiaia avenue and the via Caracciolo, prefigured the changes to come. Elegant 18th and 19th century palaces were built in the wake of this. The neoclassical Villa Pignatelli (1826) illustrates the infatuation of wealthy families for this area.
Still to the west, the Mergellina district stretches from the Posillipo hill to the seaside. The beauty of the Gulf of Naples is not mythical. A walk along the waterfront, with Vesuvius and the islands in the background, is enough to convince you. Its small fishing and yachting harbor completes an almost idyllic picture - if it weren't for the traffic, which is always a bit annoying.
To the west, the Fuorigrotta neighborhood is located at the entrance to Gallery IV, which was excavated in 1940 and runs for 1 km through the Posillipo hill and, at the other end, leads to the tomb of Virgil. Developed in the 1950s and 1970s, the area has few architectural attractions and life seems to come alive only during the big soccer matches, around the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Naples lives to the rhythm of its soccer team, immortalized in the late 1980s by Diego Maradona.
On the other hand, Posillipo is a natural wonder embellished by beautiful seaside buildings surrounded by lush gardens. The views from Parco Virgiliano over Naples and the bay are simply unforgettable. Of Greek root, the name Posillipo would mean "pause to the sweetness". Overlooking the city, the hill of Posillipo has seduced the wealthiest since antiquity. In Roman times, the notables understood the importance of building their sumptuous villas here. With an admirable panorama, overlooking both the Gulf of Naples and Pozzuoli depending on its location, the Posillipo district remains one of the most sought-after real estate areas today.
Accessible from Mergellina by funicular, note the main roads: the very long via Manzoni that delimits the northern border, via Petrarca in the center, and via Posillipo that runs along the seafront. Take the latter to reach Palazzo Donn'Anna, built in 1642 by the architect Cosimo Fanzago for the eponymous viceroy. In order to enjoy the delights of lazing around, continue along via Posillipo to Marechiaro and Gaiola, at the southwestern tip of the city, which offer beautiful beaches unknown to tourists.
The heights of Naples
In the northwest of Naples, on the heights overlooking the gulf (served by the metro and the funicular), Vomero was for a long time a chic residential area, colonized by the Neapolitan bourgeoisie from the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, it has been hit hard by the architectural changes of the 1950s and 1960s, decades of intense and anarchic urbanization during which many Belle Époque villas disappeared to make way for functional, gray towers that obscure the landscape.
Add to this the constant traffic jams, and you will quickly feel like migrating to Capodimonte, the other height of Naples, which has managed to preserve its greenery and historical heritage, in this case that of the Greeks, who have left many graves there. Inhabited since the beginning of the 18th century by the Neapolitans, it also presents different architectural styles and offers a beautiful view of the city. Corso Vittorio Emanuele connects these two districts and goes down to Chiaia.
Finally, the district that stretches to the highest peak of the city is Arenella, the steepest part of the heights of Naples, which extends from Piazza Medaglie d'Oro to Camaldoli. After the disfigurement of the Vomero, it is here that the fierce urbanization was concentrated during the second part of the twentieth century. To the northwest, on the hill, is the monastery of Camaldoli, a building dating from the sixteenth century inhabited by monks until 1962. Today, during the visit to the monastery, you can walk in the large and well-tended park and enjoy the panoramic view of the city.
